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Let's Play Final Fantasy 12 Together - Week 12. Bahamut.

Welcome to the Community Playthrough of Final Fantasy 12: For Grownups

"A masterpiece of epic proportions." -Gaming Target

"This isn't a crowning moment only for the PS2 generation, but for all of the Final Fantasy series." -Detroit Free Press

"Beautiful, involving, impeccably designed and outstanding value, this is a grand game that is difficult to fault." -Sydney Morning Herald

"10 / 10 / 10 / 10" -Weekly Famitsu

"So Final Fantasy XII is a pretty fun game." -Tube

So what the Hell is Final Fantasy 12?

Final Fantasy XII is the 12th numbered entry in the Final Fantasy series, directed by Yasumi Matsuno, also known as the creator of Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Vagrant Story. No Sakaguchi or Nomura here; the primary creative vision behind this game is, like Matsuno's other works, both highly personal and highly political. Final Fantasy 12 is a story about interpersonal relationships set against the backdrop of geopolitical turmoil, of warring empires and embattled kingdoms, of brother pitted against brother and love both lost and found, of sorrow and loss and triumph and savagery, of mankind's war against fate and the gods.

OK. So why are you playing it now?

Because it came out almost a decade ago and I was talking about it with the wife recently while I was playing FFX. Then it came up in the JRPG thread, and some interest was stirred up for a Let's Play Together. We're playing it now because it owns, and it's been out for a while.

Cool. Where can I play it?

Pretty much just on your PS2. It ain't been released on the PSN or anything, and it's not on PC like the newer FFs, so if you want to get your kicks then it needs to be old-school.

Wyborn, I got a life. I got obligations. How am I supposed to keep up with a community playthrough of a billion-hour JRPG?

Hey, I feel you! That's why this play-together is designed for grownups. The idea is that we all play at an even, relaxed pace, so you can even play between other games if you like. We all try to get to certain points in the story at the end of each week. If you finish early, Hell, do some hunts! Hunts are pretty cool sidequests with tough bosses. If you're lagging behind, don't worry! Some of the weeks are pretty light, so you'll have some time to catch up (probably).

So what do we talk about in this thread?

The idea is that as we play the game we'll talk about the parts we're playing through. Spoilers will abound, people, but the game has been out for almost a decade so we'll work out the spoiler policy as we go along. If anyone's playing for the first time, we'll be more strict about it.

When does this nonsense start?

To give people time to prepare, we're going to be kicking off next Friday, on the 3rd of July. If you need to dig out your PS2 or purchase a copy of the International Zodiac Job System to apply the fan translation to, now's the time! Let's go, people!

The first two weeks are very slow paced, so it should be easy to catch up. Though you could always start playing now and joining in the conversation / playthrough timeline when things have settled down?

The first two weeks are very slow paced, so it should be easy to catch up. Though you could always start playing now and joining in the conversation / playthrough timeline when things have settled down?

i miiiiiiiiiiiiiight do that

+1

Virgil_Leads_YouNot on Any Podcast or AffliatedDon't Even Own a MikeRegistered Userregular

I might have to get in on this. The cheap used PS2 I bought a couple years back has been sadly neglected, and a gradual schedule might be what I need to play a long-as-hell RPG again.

My only prior experience with Final Fantasy XII is using Fran a bunch in Theatrhythm. For numbered FFs I've only played 1 through 7 and 9. I used to figure I'd save XII for last, since I have higher expectations for it than VIII or X, but what the heck!

Wow, my PS2 worked on the first attempt! It usually takes a lot of effort and tears to get it to read my Persona 4 disc. ... I used to have some Persona-hating friends who would have a field day with that info.

And I promise it's more fun when you play in an environment where you can have good discussion about it, guys. We can give all kind of good advice to each other (like treasure chaining for mad cash!) and help out with things that need doing or feel tricky.

Collected thoughts. I'm about to break out of prison, so on the schedule I'm early in week 3:

The royal prince getting shot in the cleavage window amuses me to no end for some reason. And yet no one learns from his mistake in armor practicality. Come to think of it, the Imperial soldiers in their full plate take more damage than Reks does in his Dalmascan half-nudity...

I really like how the traditional victory theme plays randomly after a decisive while everybody strikes cheesy poses... But I wish that they waited until the next battle to do it for the first time. Firepony was a way more dramatic boss fight. I know there was already a scene after it, but they could have done the victory theme first, and get caught by the soldiers while standing in their dramatic poses.

Balthier: Ah, the prison repository of wrested relics and raiments.
Vaan: So our things are in here?
Balthier: That's what I said.

Ah, Balthier, I just wanna listen to you say things forever. Fran, too. I like her accent.

Especially the crazy ultimate attack system they had where it was like one giant quicktime event to do a bunch of crazy-balls bullshit that if you got really lucky you could cheese really hard bosses way beyond your level

I bought a pretty small standard-def LCD TV a few years ago specifically to play a handful of ps2 games I wanted to replay, and then promptly got distracted by other stuff because I'm a magpie.

So last night I set it up along with the slim ps2 I also bought for that purpose. Found my memory cards, a controller, and my steel case collectors edition of FFXII.

I will also be busting out the collectors edition strategy guide (Basch version).

I made the FFXII thread in G&T around launch. I was pretty damn excited! I loved almost everything about the game's presentation, setting, music, visuals, and combat. The story and characters ended up mostly disappointing, but I still remember the game fondly and want to see if a revisit with different, less than sky-high expectations will lead to a different reception.

Awesome, I'm definitely interested! May have to skip the first week and play catch up, though (work stuff) but maybe not! I'll try and get to the week one stopping point in time. I've been meaning to go back and play this, great idea guys!